So back in the summer of 2005 we were enjoying our life here on the Gulf Coast. We had moved here a few years earlier so we were getting established, making friends, active in school and scout activities. Then came Katrina. (There he goes again, bringing up Katrina...but please read on. There is a point.)

That storm tore up our home pretty good, and we were among the lucky ones. Many friends and coworkers saw their homes completely washed away with nothing left but a concrete slab and maybe a chimney chase. Restaurants, bars, offices, churches, retail establishments were all badly damaged or completely destroyed. We shared a hotel room with our youngest son for two months while our home was put back together. And people died. People we knew died. At some points we thought things would never be right again. But they were. People built back. Roads and bridges were slowly rebuilt. I still remember the first time I heard a train roll through on tracks that had been put back into service after being closed for over a year. Insurance covered some losses and FEMA and the State of Mississippi covered a lot of uninsured residents who lacked the flood insurance needed to cover the unprecedented storm surge. Slowly we all recovered and along the way somewhere we stopped worrying and started looking forward. We knew we would be ok when the Waffle House restaurants were rebuilt along the beach on US 90.

By 2008 things around here were just starting to get back in the general direction of normal. Then the economy went into a tank deeper than any of us had ever seen. Business around here took a tremendous hit as tourism dollars dried up. Sandy and I lost about a third of our retirement savings. But after surviving one disaster, this one didn't seem nearly so daunting. We kept working, kept living, and eventually our retirement accounts regained what we had lost. Tourists returned. Businesses bounced back and the sun continued to rise and set every day.

In 2010 the economy was in full recovery mode and tourism was doing fairly well. Then the Deepwater Horizon decided to blow up. There was loss of life, of course, some from our neck of the woods. Tar and dead water fowl were all over the beach. Our seafood industry was pretty much shut down. And tourism took another gut punch. So we cleaned up the beaches, with a lot of outside help, worked on the Gulf ecosystem, an effort that continues to this day, and generally got things going once again. There was a lot of justifiable anger but there was also an attitude of "We can get through this. We've been through worse." And we did. Sandy and I went to a Halloween party that fall, where the theme was "Beach Party". It was held at a local bar since the actual beach was no place for a party at that point. I wore a big straw hat, shorts, and a Hawaiian shirt. Sandy wore a full hazmat suite. Guess which one of us was the hit of the party.

We've had it easy for the last decade or so. All the hurricanes seem to have gone somewhere else. Between nature and the foolishness of men, the Gulf will never be quite the same but it is improving and tourism and the seafood industry are thriving once again. We go out regularly to catch a nice meal or some live music, and often head over to New Orleans for a festival or some jazz or general shenanigans. We work around the house and generally spend a lot of time enjoying our low key life here on the Coast.

Well, that's mostly on hold right now.

But we'll get through it. We've seen worse. Life will go on, or it won't, just like always. It will be different but as the man said, "The only constant is change." This is just one more change to add to the story of our lives.

I know sometimes in the past I've gone on about Katrina and the impact it had on us and on the Coast, but I wanted to look back again, not to point out how tough we are (we aren't all that tough) or how brave we've been (we weren't) but to say, "Hey. It will be ok."

It won't be perfect. It won't even be like it was before. But with luck and care we will all come out the other side of this thing and maybe we will come out a little wiser and more appreciative of all the good that has come our way over our lifetimes and the good we have yet to enjoy. Our grandparents made it through a depression and one or two world wars. Heck, we survived the 60s and the 70s and the Cuban Missile Crisis and Watergate. And disco. I think we can handle this.

 

Great post Mike. We had Hurricane Irene here where many homes and businesses were lost but we became Vermont strong and survived.as you all did with Katrina.

 

Yes, we will have a new normal with the past in our memories. It's about the first thing that really affects my kids, 33 and almost 32 years-old. Earthquakes, 911 and their parents' divorce happened in their lives but this one is while they're "adulting". For some reason that I haven't quite figured out yet, that interests me a lot. My son and daughter-in-law are working from home which changes their lives some but my daughter is getting worn out, physically and mentally with four ten-hour days at the Denver Zoo. They're all hanging in there.

 

Very nice reminder to keep things in perspective.

 

All you can do is look forward, weather whatever storm is affecting your region and work through it. My parents left a war torn region and landed on our shores with 10 cents in their pockets at the age of 18, when I think about that being rock-bottom there should always be hope of us getting through our challenging times.

Curious to know if your homes get rebuilt under insurance when damaged during hurricanes like Katrina, or do the insurance companies try to cheat their customers due to "fine print" clauses - water damage vs. wind damage etc. ?

Great thread BTW.

 

I know someone who's home got literally washed down the river during Irene and she got insurance money for it and also federal help and this happened to quite a few people. If you google hurricane irene jamaica vermont you can see the power of the water.

 

Thanks, Mike. I needed a pep talk. We've got it pretty easy compared to many. I'm extremely fearful for family members and friends who are working and exposed to the virus. I'm having a hard time with the changes we have had to make. I miss my grandkids, and people. I miss people!

 

with Tof...

 

We all need to raise a can of ok soda. Anybody remember it? www.oksoda.org

 

I'll drink to that. (A takeoff on Doctor Perky soda from Food Lion.)